PowerPoint, Communication, and the Knowledge Society

This book explores the dynamics and limitations of PowerPoint as a means of communication.

Hubert Knoblauch (Author)

9780521197328, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 November 2012

265 pages, 42 b/w illus. 3 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.9 cm, 0.49 kg

'On the whole, this is a significant work which examines the globally important phenomenon of PowerPoint - and powerpoint - in a context that is highly meaningful for sociological theory … The study is not just about the software and related performances but also about the contemporary development of information and knowledge society, which has been a major social and cultural change across the globe. The analysis is also pertinent to the classic questions concerning human action that have captivated the greatest sociological thinkers … the overall quality and significance make it a valuable piece of sociological scholarship.' Stanis?aw Krawczyk, State of Affairs

PowerPoint has become an integral part of academic and professional life across the globe. In this book, Hubert Knoblauch offers the first complete analysis of the PowerPoint presentation as a form of communication. Knoblauch charts the diffusion of PowerPoint and explores its significance as a ubiquitous and influential element of contemporary communication culture. His analysis considers the social and intellectual implications of the genre, focusing on the dynamic relationships between the aural, visual and physical dimensions of PowerPoint presentations, as well as the diverse institutional contexts in which these presentations take place. Ultimately, Knoblauch argues that the parameters of the PowerPoint genre frames the ways in which information is presented, validated and absorbed, with ambiguous consequences for the acquisition and transmission of knowledge. This original and timely book is relevant to scholars of communications, sociology and education.

Acknowledgments
Part I. Introduction: 1. 'PowerPoint' and powerpoint
2. Communication culture
3. Information and knowledge society
4. Structure of the book
Part II. On the History of PowerPoint: 5. The archaeology of PowerPoint
6. The double invention of PowerPoint
7. Presentation as digital document and presentation as event
8. PowerPoint is evil - discourse and studies on PowerPoint
9. Tufte and the public discourse on PowerPoint
10. The inconclusiveness of studies on PowerPoint
11. Presentation as event and genre
Part III. Communicative Action, Culture, and the Analysis of Communicative Genres: 12. Communicative actions and genres
13. The three levels of genre analysis and communication culture
Part IV. The Internal Level: Slides, Speech, and Synchronization: 14. Rhetoric of visual presentation
15. Slides, text, and speech
16. Multimodality and the synchronization of speech slides
17. Speech and talk
18. Linguistic deixis, paralleling, and communicative things
19. Lists and seriality
20. Macrostructures
Part V. The Intermediate Level: Pointing, the Body Formation, and the Triadic Structure of PowerPoint Presentations: 21. Pointing, gesture, and speech
22. Pointing, speech, and the objectification of meaning
23. Body formation and the triadic structure of the presentation
24. Technology, failures and footing
Part VI. The External Level: Settings, Meetings, and the Ubiquity of PowerPoint: 25. Objects, settings, and spaces
26. The temporal order of presentations and the meeting
27. The multiplication and the ubiquity of PowerPoint presentation
Part VII. Conclusion: the Ubiquity of PowerPoint and the Communicative Culture of Knowledge Society: 28. The invention and ubiquity of PowerPoint presentations
29. Contextualization and mediatization
30. Communicative things and the subjectification of knowledge
31. PowerPoint presentation in the communicative culture of knowledge society
Part VIII. Appendices: Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
References
Index.

Subject Areas: PowerPoint [UFGP], Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU], Business communication & presentation [KJP], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Communication studies [GTC]